The present invention relates generally to an automatic target detection and recognition, and more particularly to a target screener using a segment labeler/extractor with data from an electronic warfare sensor, such as FLIR imagery.
The complexity of modern military operations dictates the need for automatic target acquisition, recognition, and weapon designation to reduce operator workload, increase weapon kill probability, and increase the number of weapons fired in a short exposure time. In close air support and battlefield interdiction, target acquisition, recognition, and weapon designation must take place within the few seconds available in an environment where the pilot is flying nap-of-the-earth while he must avoid topological obstacles and air defense weapons. The pilot must be free to navigate and fly the aircraft. He should only be alerted after the weapon has been locked on to the target, at which time he may initiate or cancel the launch of the weapon.
In addition to the pilot workload, the physics of targets and backgrounds in the IR spectrum, the electronic limitations of scanned FLIR detectors, and enemy countermeasures such as smoke and flares dictate a need for image enhancement as part of the acquisition capability. Once acquired, there is also a need for target classification (e.g., tank versus armored personnel carrier (APC) versus clutter differentiation).
The FLIR imagery that must be examined for targets has a large signal bandwidth of approximately 5 to 10 megahertz. This imagery must be continuously processed in real time by the automatic target screener so that a target does not slip undetected through the field of view. Each new image requires a number of complex decomposition steps to determine if a target is present. This set of requirements yields a high operations rate which must be handled by the automatic target cuer hardware.
United States Patents of interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,878,384; 3,139,319; 3,940,602 and 3,596,068. U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,384 discloses a logic circuit including digital memory and a computer for designating the class to which an unknown event or observation belongs among a plurality of possible classes. Also of general interest are U.S. Pat. No. 3,139,319 which discloses electronic circuitry for monitoring and recording data from a system having a plurality of monitoring variables; U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,602 which discloses a signal processing imager array featuring independent control of transfer gates; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,068 which discloses logic circuitry for automatically arranging patterns on the surface of a material in a manner which will require less material than previously used.